Early intervention (EI) systems have been implemented in law enforcement agencies across the country as a tool for improving accountability, officer wellness, and overall data management. While the term “early intervention system” is commonly used within law enforcement, approaches and processes vary widely across agencies. This study categorizes the features of EI systems based on a sample of agency policies to demonstrate the range of characteristics. These results will enable future research to be more selective in assessing which approaches to EI systems are most effective rather than treating such systems as a monolith.
This study reviewed 67 EI system policies from law enforcement agencies with 500+ sworn personnel throughout all US regions. Policies were coded to identify specific features of EI systems, including policy demographics, performance indicators, identification and selection criteria, interventions, post-intervention monitoring, and audit procedures.
Based on our review of agency policies, we found that EI systems varied substantially. While certain features are common across systems, other features are more varied, highlighting the fact that EI systems are far from uniform. Therefore, our findings demonstrate there is no singular “EI system” but rather a wide array of approaches operating under the same (or a similar) name.
This study is the first review of a large sample of EI system policies to explore system variation and sets the foundation for more precise assessments of specific EI system features in the future.
